


The Riddle and The Warning Star

by teecup_angel



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: ... a bit, Harry goes to Hogwarts in Tom's Time, Harry is part of House Black, M/M, Sadistic!Harry, Slytherin Harry Potter, Slytherin House Unity, apathetic!Harry, crazy!harry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-20
Updated: 2016-08-28
Packaged: 2018-05-27 21:33:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6301210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teecup_angel/pseuds/teecup_angel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fate heard the Diary Horcrux's musing of how Harry Potter could have changed Tom Riddle had he been in the same time as Tom.</p>
<p>So she decided to... change the course of history to see how that single change would play out.</p>
<p>(Reading Musing of the a Diary Horcrux is not necessary)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A New Toy

**Author's Note:**

> This is part of the massive uploads this week brought by the fact I had no internet last week and I found some of my unfinished Harrymort fanfiction lying around. So… yey?
> 
> This is... actually... I suppose you can say this is a fanfic of the fanfic 'Musing of a Diary Horcrux'. Uuumm... fiception? XD
> 
> Stupid puns aside, this takes CaRB!Harry into the past as the youngest son of Cygnus Black. See warning notes for more information.
> 
> Warning for all Chapters:  
> 1 Harry is born as a pure-blood Black named Hadrian Denebola Black, youngest son of Cygnus Black and youngest brother of Dorea (who in this fic would be called Dorea Spica Black)  
> 2 Harry would still be called Harry in narrative and it is his usual nickname (with the exception of the Blacks who usually call him 'Denebola' because they're pompous)  
> 3 Harry's personality is based on the fic Consequences of a Binding Ritual but with a different reason/excuse so he's apathetic, sarcastic, has a sadistic streak and has a really, really weird imagination.  
> 4 Harry and Tom’s relationship might be platonic or romantic, either one is fine  
> 5 This isn't a time travel fic. It is literally Fate taking Harry's soul and making Cygnus have another son.  
> 6 This is a oneshot… for now. (No, really, it is… maybe)  
> 7 Made up names for the characters during Tom’s time in Hogwarts
> 
> Meaning of Harry's Black name:  
> Denebola is one of the stars in the Leo constellation (which is the basis of Harry's zodiac sign: Leo). Denebola is actually the short version of the star's Arabic phrase 'tail of the lion' as the star itself represents Leo's tail. Denebola is believed to be the star that warns about misfortune and disgrace.

Hadrian found life boring.

 

Many might find that offensive.

 

After all, he was part of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black, more known for their habit of marrying their own relatives and the infamous Black insanity than the fact that they were actually richer than the Malfoys and have more seats in Wizengamot than any other families.

 

He was also a pure-blood which meant his social standing in the Wizarding World was already ensured.

 

He wasn't bad-looking. He had the pale skin and black hair of his Black ancestry. He was smaller than average and was lithe for his age but no amount of food could ever change that. It seemed that his Black genes had denied him the possibility of having a healthy body. He was paler than a usual Black and his eyes were overly sensitive to light. Even just half an hour standing outside in the sun without any shade was bound to make Harry's eyes hurt and cry by themselves. A normal cold could easily force Harry to stay in bed for days. He had a weak body as well as a weak stamina. Because of this, he spent most of his time indoors, reading in their family library.

 

Speaking of his sensitive eyes, he had unusual vibrant green eyes which was apparently a noble trait of the Blacks and had said to have been lost just like the Animorphus ability Blacks used to possess.

 

They say Blacks with green eyes were blessed by Death itself and the green eyes were said to house the blackest of Dark Arts, Death magic. The last Black to have the same green eyes as Harry had was rumored to be a Necromancer.

 

Utter rubbish.

 

Harry had spoken to the alleged Black Necromancer.

 

There was a portrait of him in the deepest part of the library in the manor they had in Bulgaria. The portrait who said his name was 'The Teller of Life' had gone on and on about the story of the Three Brothers and how his love for the second brother had ended with tragedy.

 

Harry had bluntly told him it was his own fault for not confessing and simply letting the second brother marry that wrench (the portrait's words, not his).

 

According to the portrait, it was because of the death of his beloved (Harry had snorted at that) that he had decided to study Death (apparently it had to have a capital D).

 

It was because of his obsession with Death that he had created a ritual that had forced his eyes to see beyond the mortal plane in an attempt to see Death just like the Three Brothers had done before him. The side-effect had been that his eyes which had been the dark silver eyes Blacks commonly had become green the same hue as the Killing curse.

 

That got Harry's attention. When he pressed the portrait for more information on what their green eyes could do, the portrait had said "nothing".

 

Apparently, the ritual had been a failure. Other than changing his eyes to creepy Avada Kedavra eyes, they were still the same pair of eyeballs every human being had.

 

That was the first time Harry wanted to burn a portrait so badly.

 

When he had asked if the portrait had really been a necromancer, the portrait simply told him to check the third row from where they were. That entire row was filled with books about Death magic and Necromancy.

 

All purely theoretical and studies published by Magical theorists...

 

Again... pure rubbish.

 

But there were also lore and novels which focuses on Death and necromancers.

 

Those had been nice...

 

Other than his eye color, Harry was considered as one of the 'normal' Blacks.

 

Everyone already assumed he would be sorted to Slytherin like the rest of the Blacks which was considered to be a great honor for a Black.

 

He might not be studious or a genius but he knew enough to not appear like a common plebian. He can easily bluff his way to topics he didn't know. If bluffing didn’t work, his natural weirdness would save him.

 

So there should not be a reason why someone like Hadrian Denebola Black would find the world so utterly boring.

 

Or was it because he was all those that he found the world boring in the first place?

 

For as long as Harry could remember, he had always had a kind of detached look at the world around him.

 

He recognized his parents and his relatives. He understood the socially accepted manner he needed to play around them. He also understood that his mentality was very, very strange.

 

People around him simply concluded that his utter apathy to everything and his lack of interest were his signs of the Black insanity.

 

Harry never bothered to deny their allegations because he was as lazy as he was bored.

 

He passed the time observing people, toying with them, finding enjoyment in their reactions.

 

Sometimes, he would team up with his older sister Dorea. She found most things as boring as he did and some of his ideas would perk his older sister's interest at times.

 

They used to play a game of sort during parties and gatherings where whoever gets more people to be angry or to cry would win.

 

Whoever wins had to do one thing the winner orders.

 

Harry really hated losing that game.

 

One of Dorea's favorite punishments for Harry was dressing him up in women's clothing which, according to everyone who has ever seen him in them, looked adorable on him.

 

Harry didn't mind the clothes themselves. It was interesting to see his father's and his brother's reaction the first time he had worn a dress.

 

No. It had been the cooing and the squealing from every woman in the vicinity.

 

... with the exception of Dorea who only smirked triumphantly as she basked in her younger brother's discomfort.

 

He was fond of his sister but there were times he wondered how it would be like to carve that annoying smirk permanently on her sister's face.

 

... with a blunt rusty knife.

 

But he and Dorea had an understanding. Among the Blacks, they understood each other the most. Harry was pretty sure Dorea was more apathetic than him and he was more sadistic than her.

 

It's because they understood one another that they know that there must be boundaries.

 

Such us some people are exclusive theirs to play with...

 

Like dear niece Walburga and cousin Orion...

 

Adorable dear niece Walburga was his sister's 'prey'...

 

… which was fine by Harry since he was fonder of playing with their cousin Orion.

 

Orion had been an obnoxious child when they were younger so Harry had... played a trick on him.

 

That trick still made Orion tremble uncontrollably and look at Harry fearfully any time they were left alone in a small dark room.

 

At least he had stopped crying...

 

Because apparently Blacks do not cry.

 

Blacks are better than that.

 

That's why Walburga would scream and get mad.

 

That's why Orion would laugh and play a childish prank before running away.

 

That's why Dorea would smile pleasantly while promising torture more painful than death.

 

And Harry?

 

Harry found crying too troublesome.

 

It made his vision blurry, made his voice disturbingly similar to Walburga and he never enjoyed having runny nose.

 

He did enjoy watching other people cry.

 

It would be more accurate to say he enjoyed watching people's mask fall.

 

Raised as a pure-blood, Harry knew that the pure-blood's greatest weapon was their mask so they were trained to fortify it, to make it unbreakable.

 

What better way to spend his days than to make them fall?

 

Harry had simply been keeping flow with his life, surviving as a Black, as a Dark wizard...

 

As what the masses perceived as 'evil'.

 

Because no matter how hard the Dark families delude themselves into thinking otherwise, the harsh truth was that they are considered evil by Magical Britain for they were Dark, for they were Slytherin most of the time, and for they uphold the traditions which are foreign to the muggle-borns.

 

Harry never understood why his family just doesn't leave such a prejudicial world.

 

Pride, he assumed.

 

How utterly dull.

 

It was because of that boring pride of theirs that they cannot see the increasing gap between the Dark families and the rest of Magical Britain. They do not see how they are simply digging their own hole as they continue to scream out their superiority to the ignorant muggle-borns and muggle-supporters. 

 

But Harry didn't really care about that. Let them dig their own graves. It's their life in the balance. Harry was fine with the gap. It meant there were less people he had to deal with.

 

Harry never looked forward to anything. Perhaps he would at times look forward to seeing how his latest trick would end but they were all irrelevant in the end. That's why he did not share Ricardus Lestrange's enthusiasm when they had received their Hogwarts letter.

 

Ricardus was one of the pure-bloods who were the same age as Harry. Because of their same age, they were... friends... of sort. Ricards, as Harry like to call him, knew what kind of person Harry was and the Lestrange heir held a sort of fondness for the weird Hadrian Denebola Black.

 

Dorea had given him a rundown on what to expect from Hogwarts. Harry concluded it would simply be a longer and more rumbustious party. The segregation to houses was definitely helpful. All Harry needed to do was to get sorted to Slytherin where most pure-bloods and half-blood traditionalists stay and he'll be able to survive as an unremarkable Black in the pages of Hogwarts history.

 

... probably.

 

There was always a chance that Harry would find some unknown variable that would tip all his plans to the ground.

 

And he had met that unknown variable on his train to Hogwarts.

 

Harry had left Ricards and the rest of their... childhood 'friends'. No one there had ever liked Harry's company. Even Ricards have said that Harry was an 'acquired' taste like he was coffee or medicine or something. Harry was usually silent and, if he ever decided to speak, it would be about the most random things. They also got annoyed when Harry talked about muggle literature.

 

It wasn't his fault Wizarding literature was boring.

 

Who in their right mind would enjoy the story of a troll learning to dance anyway?

 

That's why Harry had simply stayed for an hour as a sign of respect before leaving without a single word to anyone. Ricards had tried following him and Harry had simply lied that he was going to see Dorea.

 

Everyone seemed to have this weird idea that he had a sister complex for Dorea so they simply awkwardly said goodbye.

 

This was one of those times he was grateful his ancestors had weird taste.

 

Instead of actually trying to find Dorea (which would only make her mock him), Harry had tried looking for an empty compartment. He had already changed to his uniform since he didn't see the point of wearing normal robes when they would just be changing later on in the first place so he just left his trunk in Ricards' compartment.

 

After coming across a lot of compartments filled with chatty first years, Harry was almost steeling himself in actually just finding Dorea and begging sanctuary, damn the consequences.

 

At least Dorea's 'social circle' enjoyed silence.

 

That's when he came across one compartment with only one occupant. A young boy with black hair and the brightest blue eyes Hadrian ever saw was reading the required book for First Year's Defense Against the Dark Arts class. The boy raised his head to stare at the opened door. The boy glared at Harry and asked in an annoyed tone, "What do you want?"

 

Harry didn't miss a beat as he deadpanned, "A compartment not housing an ignorant pompous muggle-born."

 

The boy's eyes widened in surprise and Harry slid the door shut just as he saw the boy's mouth open to retort. Harry's lips curved into a satisfied smile.

 

He always enjoyed having the last say.

 

With his sarcastic streak stroked and full at the moment, Harry skipped further into the train and set out to find Dorea.

 

When he found Dorea a couple of cars away from his original car, Dorea had raised an eyebrow as she noticed the smile on Harry's face and mused, "Oh dear, have you already talked someone into killing themselves?"

 

"Nope." Harry replied with a grin, "I did saw a very adorable surprised look."

 

Dorea stepped aside to let her younger brother inside their compartment as she commented, "It must have been very adorable. The last time you looked like that, Orion couldn't stop crying for weeks and Lestrange couldn't visit the manor for a month."

 

Harry blinked and pursed his lips as he entered the compartment, "Am I really smiling that much?"

 

Dorea slid the door closed as she replied, "You have the same foolish grin our father always wore after he shagged mother."

 

Harry wrinkled his nose and mockingly chided, "Sister! You do not say that to an eleven years old child!"

 

Dorea snorted and retorted, "You'll survive, little brother."

 

With that familiar banter (that made everyone else in the compartment awkward) done, Harry sat next to Dorea and got introduced to her social circle.

 

Aaaannndd Harry promptly forgot everyone's name once they left the train.

 

The sorting ceremony was just as dull as everything else and Harry passed the time staring at the enchanted ceiling, wondering if it would be possible to change the sky into something else.

 

Like the sea perhaps?

 

Would it also be possible to transfigure those candles?

 

Everyone left him alone, probably thinking he's some normal boy awed by the ceiling.

 

Only Ricards seemed to have that fearful look in his eyes when he would glance at Harry, most probably knowing (and dreading) the real reason why Harry was staring at the ceiling.

 

Harry was the first of the Black to be sorted. The hat was silent for one second before he chided, "No, child, it would not be possible for you to borrow me for your... 'observation'."

 

The hat also told him that he couldn't try to burn, cut or damage the hat in any other way just see if what happens. No. It would take centuries for Harry to replicate the hat.

 

"Honestly, you're probably the worst Black I have yet to sort and that's counting your older sister who actually wondered how hard it would be to kill everyone in the Great Hall for kicks."

 

Oh? Dorea thought of that?

 

My, my. It seemed he was underestimating his sister's violent streak.

 

Perhaps Dorea would be interested in planning the perfect murder with him?

 

"I am going to regret this but there is only one house I can actually put you in. The lions would either kill you or commit suicide just to get away from you, the badgers would most probably become loyal to you out of fear and you'd make the eagles cry with that tongue of yours so better be..." The hat mumbled before shouting out loud, "SLYTHERIN!"

 

How rude.

 

Did the hat really think those lions could kill Harry?

 

He felt insulted.

 

Just as Harry began walking towards the clapping Slytherins, the hat mumbled, "They'll die trying at least."

 

Other than that fascinating talk with the hat (which is mostly just the hat saying 'no' to all of Harry's experiment proposals), the sorting ceremony had been dull. Ricards was sorted to Slytherin, as expected, and had sat next to Harry. This set every other new blood Slytherin to sit near Harry which meant... pleasant conversation.

 

Ugh.

 

Boring.

 

Harry wondered if it would be too early to ask if they've read muggle literature just so they would stop trying to include them in their boring chatter.

 

Not to mention, that topic was bound to keep Harry entertained with the pure-bloods' reactions.

 

Just when Harry was going to actually ask that question, a Tom Riddle was sorted to Slytherin.

 

The entire Slytherin table grew silent, turning to stare at the new addition.

 

Riddle was not a Wizarding name.

 

Harry raised his head to stare at who had gotten everyone's attention and raised an eyebrow when he recognized Tom Riddle as the arrogant boy back in the train. He held his head high and had an expression that just screamed 'I'm better than all of you'.

 

Oh dear.

 

That will not bode well in the den of snakes.

 

Only those with respectable Wizarding last names could do that.

 

A boy of unknown origin, obviously muggle-born or muggle-raised based on the second-hand robes he wore as expected from every other Hogwarts charity case should definitely not wear that mask. The entire table united against him immediately, sneering or looking at him with disdain. The boy kept his expression cold, not even slipping even when none of the first years scooted over to give him a place to sit. He sat in the farthest corner of the table without even letting anyone know what he was thinking.

 

That's when Harry decided he found a new 'toy'.

 

Harry spent his first year simply observing. He kept his distance from all the social circles that formed among the first years. He was accepted in Ricards' social circle whenever he needed to be in a group. No one in Slytherin outwardly denied Harry. They knew denying him could be seen as an insult to the powerful Black family.

 

On the other hand, his new toy was an absolute outcast. No one wanted to be seen talking to him, Slytherin or not. Most stayed away from him, some would sneer or jeer at him like the immature children that they were.

 

And the mud-blood (according to the majority of Slytherin who were all stupid) of Slytherin took it all in stride. He kept his mask on even when it was obvious the entire school was against him. The baby lions and baby badgers didn't trust him because he was a Slytherin while the baby eagles didn't like him because he proved to be smarter than the rest of them. The baby snakes, on the other hand, stayed away from him because of his questionable lineage.

 

The possibility of a mud-blood in Slytherin house?!

 

Preposterous!

 

And this was why the Wizarding world was so, so dull.

 

Watching Tom Riddle survive his everyday life in a foolishly biased school was entertaining. It was the cold fury in those beautiful blue eyes, it was that sadistic smirk that would appear for a second when someone got hexed or cursed and no one knew who did it, it was the little slip-ups in Tom Riddle's mask that made Harry's day just a little less dull.

 

Ricards had caught him staring more than once.

 

Merlin only knows what boring cliché ideas his dear childhood friend was getting because of his actions.

 

Dorea seemed to understand that Tom was off-limits so she kept her distance. Tom was his to observe, his to play with, his to enjoy.

 

But for now, Harry would bid his time. He would observe the oddity that was Tom Riddle and go with the flow.

 

... which only lasted up till November.

 

Some of the baby lions had gotten brave (or stupid, depending on which House would describe it). They had cornered Tom in one of the dark corridors with no portraits leading to their dormitory and had begun sprouting their talk of 'Gryffindor good, Slytherin bad' nonsense.

 

Honestly.

 

Gryffindors were as foolishly proud as Slytherins. No wonder the two houses had such intense rivalry.

 

From where Harry was observing, he could hear that the stupid lions had chosen Tom Riddle because of Dumbledore's obvious distrust of the boy (something that Harry had noted and wondered why) and they were good lions so they were going to put Tom 'in his place'.

 

Harry had remained hidden in his spot, simply watching as the lions began to push Tom Riddle around.

 

How boring.

 

Do they not remember they have wands?

 

Pushing people around was such a muggle bully act.

 

After one of them pushed too hard and Tom Riddle's back hit the wall behind him, Harry's breath hitched when he saw the cold fury in those blue eyes and he felt the entire corridor be engulfed in alluring dark magic like none Harry had felt before.

 

The lions didn't even have the change to take out their wands. The young Slytherin had taken them all out without mercy with a spell that was not even part of the Hogwarts curriculum.

 

Harry knew the spell, of course. He had spent most of his time reading every Dark Arts book the Black library had to offer.

 

It had been the Eternal Nightmare curse. It was a curse that forces the target to sleep, reliving their worst nightmare repeatedly.

 

The Slytherin left the stupid lions on the floor, walking back to their dormitory with the same mask completely in place.

 

Harry followed his example but took a different route, taking the time to smile at Ricards when he finally arrived in the common room which only served to make his poor childhood friend shudder in fear.

 

He already feared what had happened to make Harry smile like that.

 

The news of the lions in the infirmary spread like out of control fiendfyre.

 

Walburga obviously suspected Harry had done it. It did sound like something Harry would do just to pass the time. With Walburga's suspicion came the rest of the Blacks' suspicion. Every Black knew about the length Harry would go through just to be entertained. It seemed like the most logical assumption considering Harry never hid the fact that he enjoyed reading about the Dark Arts and had, more than once, wondered out loud how interesting it would be to see how each curse and hex work. If anyone was crazy enough to curse first year lions with an obscure barely legal curse like the Eternal Nightmare curse, it would be Harry.

 

... or Dorea...

 

Speaking of his lovely sister, Dorea was staring at him. When he stared back, Dorea raised an eyebrow and Harry simply shrugged, jerking his head to the same location where Tom Riddle had been silently writing their Potions homework.

 

The look on Dorea's face was priceless.

 

Harry had never seen her older sister mimic a gaping fish out of the water before.

 

An hour after every Slytherin has heard about the lions being treated with the Eternal Nightmare curse, every Slytherin except Dorea and the real criminal had assumed Harry had been the one to do such a crazy stunt.

 

He was apparently the only person in Hogwarts who could have the knowledge AND was crazy enough to actually use it.

 

Ricards had even flat-out asked him if he had chanted enough spells to cover his 'usage' of the curse.

 

Harry had simply given Ricards the smile that always made Ricards want to run far, far away. It had been a natural flight reaction ingrained on both Ricards and Orion ever since they were kids.

 

But he was the Lestrange heir so he did the next best thing... he pretended he was tired and went to bed early.

 

It was annoying how no one even thought it could have been Tom Riddle. No one even glanced at the outcast the entire time.

 

Harry had seen him glance at his direction at times but he was always too quick for Harry to react to. His mask was perfectly in place, a nonchalant disinterest to the current hot topic that had swept the entire common room of Slytherin house. Harry wondered if he was annoyed that Harry was getting all the... 'credit'.

 

It was a few minutes before eleven when the entrance opened and a fuming Dumbledore (and wasn't that a spectacular sight by itself?), a panicking Slughorn and a worried Dippet came walking in. The common room was still filled with many students, having numerous conversations about the Dark Arts and what should be banned or what shouldn't be banned. Harry had been silently listening to Abraxas Malfoy's passionate speech about how every spell should not be banned simply because of the ignorance of the mud-bloods.

 

Harry must say, Malfoys really know what to say to pure-bloods.

 

They suck at talking to muggle-borns and muggle-raised half-bloods though.

 

Returning to the current situation at hand, Dumbledore was the one leading the... charge, Harry supposed he can call it that. He had always been fiercely protective over his own lions.

 

Every Slytherin had assumed they were there for Harry.

 

That's why they were all surprised when Dumbledore had stopped right in front of the little orphan mud-blood and asked somberly, "Were you the one to cast that curse on those boys, Tom?"

 

Tom Riddle simply raised his head to frown at Dumbledore in confusion as he asked politely, "What curse, professor?"

 

"Please don't lie, Tom." Dumbledore pleaded but his voice had a hint of hardness to it that no one had ever heard from the usually jovial Transfiguration teacher, "They've already woken up and had said you were the one who attacked them."

 

Ah.

 

Of course.

 

The baby lions had squealed like pigs to their papa lion.

 

How predictable.

 

How dull.

 

Tom Riddle looked surprised and hurt as he replied, "I did no such thing, professor."

 

His voice grew softer as he continued, "I didn't."

 

"See, Dumbledore! Tom couldn't have done it!" Slughorn said, walking towards the accused boy and placing his hand on the young boy's shoulder as he defended, "Tom is a polite kind boy with a bright future ahead of him! There is no way Tom could have done such horrible things!"

 

Ah. Yes.

 

The polite kind mask Tom Riddle put in front of the professors. Only Dumbledore seemed unaffected by it.

 

"Horace, please understand..." Dumbledore said in a soft tone that managed to sound both pleading and scolding at the same time, "You do not know him."

 

"Neither do you, professor."

 

Everyone turned to stare at Harry.

 

Oh dear.

 

Did he just say that out loud?

 

According to Dorea's surprised but amused stare...

 

Yes...

 

Apparently, he did.

 

My, my.

 

He didn't expect to have to play a more direct role until perhaps the middle of his third year.

 

All because of Tom Riddle...

 

How... strange...

 

"What do you mean by that, my boy?" Dumbledore asked as he stared at Harry warily.

 

Harry got up and began walking towards the three professors and the real criminal as he said, "You don't know Tom either. All of the bases of your assumption are the words of traumatized boys who most probably just woke up from being tortured repeatedly by their worst nightmare."

 

Harry tilted his head as he deduced, "Considering they named Tom as the criminal, would it be safe to assume that they would be first years as well?"

 

The professors remained silent and Harry stopped right behind Tom Riddle before continuing, "Then they're probably those energetic boys. Was one of them Conrad?"

 

He saw Slughorn flinch and he grinned, "Ah, so it was Conrad and his merry band of hero wanna-bes."

 

"Are you getting anywhere with this, Mr. Black?" Dumbledore asked, his soft tone hiding the wariness Harry saw in his professor's eyes.

 

"They might be in their best behavior in front of you, professor, but I've seen how rude they have been to Tom since the start our school."

 

And that wasn't a lie. Harry had observed how those foolish lions had seemed to have it for his favorite shiny new toy. Unconsciously or not, their papa lion’s actions towards Tom had painted a huge target on his back for all those wanna-be baby lions.

 

"Are you saying that Mr. Riddle had a reason to attack them?" Dippet asked, finally joining the conversation.

 

"Attack them?!" Harry made sure to act offended, "Professor! Do you really think Tom would do such a thing?!"

 

"Of course not!" Dippet immediately replied, "I just meant-"

 

"He was with me." Harry said, catching everyone off-guard. Even Tom Riddle's impeccable mask slipped for a second; staring at Harry with surprise before returning it to the hurt expression he had been wearing ever since Dumbledore had accused him. Harry placed his hands on Tom's shoulders, discreetly pushing Slughorn's hand off. The other boy stiffened at his touch but remained still nonetheless while Harry continued, "We were having a discussion about Dante's Divine Comedy."

 

At the confused look his professors were giving him, Harry added with a sigh, "It's a muggle literature."

 

They all seemed surprised that a Black would read muggle literature.

 

That's when the other Slytherin added, "Yes. We were discussing about the different punishments for the sinners in Inferno."

 

"I just find the punishment of blowing strong wind to the lustful strange." Harry continued, shrugging as he added with restrained glee, "I mean, there are better more appropriate punishments like perhaps using rose thorns and coiling them around-"

 

"I don't think our professors need to know about your overactive imagination, Hadrian." Tom Riddle cut him off, obviously knowing what Harry was about to say.

 

Harry was just surprised his toy knew who he was.

 

Harry grinned and leaned forward, whispering in Tom's ear, "But you like my overactive imagination, don't you, my dear Tom?"

 

Harry kept his voice low enough to sound a bit suggestive, making all professors a bit uncomfortable.

 

Of course any normal person would feel uncomfortable when an eleven years old child would do such a thing.

 

That's what Harry was betting on. Make them uncomfortable. Make them feel like they were intruding something private.

 

"Are you saying that Tom couldn't have cursed the boys because you were with him?" Dumbledore pressed.

 

"Yes, professor." Harry rolled his eyes as he said, "They probably didn't even see who cursed them in the first place and thought it was Tom because they figured he would want retribution."

 

Harry raised an eyebrow as he continued, "You can't honestly think first year muggle-borns would be able to remember what had happened to them clearly when they have just been hit by a powerful curse, do you? The Eternal Nightmare curse directly attacks the target's mind. It has been proven that most people who had just been under the curse in under an hour suffered memory lost or memory modifications as side-effects."

 

"You seem to know a lot about this curse, Mr. Black." Dumbledore commented, staring at Harry warily.

 

"Please repeat the last word in your last sentence, professor." Harry deadpanned, making Slughorn's and some of the other Slytherins' eyes widened out of surprise on the blatant disrespect.

 

"I am a member of the Ancient and Noble House of Black." Harry made sure to sound offended as he sneered, "It would be a disgrace to my family name if I am not at least this knowledgeable in our magnificent history. Please do not mistake me with your muggle-born flock."

 

"Now, now, Denebola. There's no need to get riled up." Dorea stood from where she had simply been watching the proceedings. She walked towards Harry and placed her hand on Harry's shoulder as she smiled apologetically at the professors, "Please excuse my little brother. He had always been overly protective of things he considered..."

 

Harry momentarily tightened his grip on Riddle's shoulders when he felt his sister's fingernails dig onto his robes and his skin as her sister continued, "... his."

 

"But yes, I saw these two boys discussing here in the common room since after dinner. Surely my word would be enough to show Riddle's innocence?" Dorea's lips curved into a predatory grin as she continued, "Or would you like more witnesses?"

 

Dorea turned to look at their fellow Slytherins as she asked, "Who here remembers the two of them discussing that disgusting muggle literature?"

 

That one question heralded the infamous Slytherin unity.

 

"I remembered seeing Lestrange leave the two of them, mumbling about muggle garbage and the likes." Abraxas Malfoy was the first one to support the lie Harry had created on the spot.

 

"Oh yeah, Ricardus was really peeved that his childhood friend would rather talk to Riddle than him." Avery added with a grin, "He's not here right now because he's mending his broken heart."

 

"They were talking about muggle literature? From the way their conversation was going, I had assumed Riddle was humoring Denebola's disturbing imagination." Walburga sneered, glaring at Harry and his toy, obviously not liking the fact that Harry was helping a 'mud-blood' but still stayed loyal to her blood kin.

 

Soon enough, almost all of the Slytherins still in the common room began to talk about this displeasure over how Harry and Tom Riddle had apparently disturbed the peace of their common room with that talk of muggle literature.

 

And Slytherin had decided to turn Tom Riddle as the kind patient muggle-born who was trying very hard to make crazy Hadrian Denebola Black understand why some parts were not as horrifying, painful or just plain disturbing (last one courtesy of Dorea) than how the Black child thought it should be.

 

The professors finally relented and Dippet had expressed his deepest apology for doubting Tom Riddle. Dumbledore, on the other hand, left with a wary glance at both Harry and his toy.

 

Dumbledore's glance at Harry also had a hint of... pity?

 

What a strange man...

 

Once the professors have left, Dorea leaned closer and whispered on Harry's ear, "I will owl father before bed. Hopefully he reads my letter before our dear niece owls our brother and asks for your immediate disownment."

 

Both Blacks knew Tom Riddle was listening and Dorea lowered her gaze to stare down at the sitting boy as she said, "You owe my brother a debt, Tom Riddle."

 

Harry could only feel amusement when Tom Riddle simply glared at both of them.

 

His new toy was certainly entertaining.

 

It wasn’t planned but he believes his observations of Tom Riddle were going to turn into a more… personal activity.

 

How… interesting…


	2. The Great Halls Incident

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry and Tom team up to do an experiment at the expense of the Hogwarts populace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I stayed in my office’s dorms this weekend. That meant no PS3/PS4 so more writing. Yay to you guys. (I do miss Asbel though)   
> So here: a chapter for Riddle and the Warning Star (don’t place your hopes up for a weekly update. Light House takes precedence) and another oneshot of the Batman AU.  
> Warning for this chapter:  
> 1 unbeta’ed as usual  
> 2 might feel filler-y, I guess?

Words spread that Tom and Harry were now best mates and, by next morning, the other first year Slytherins had reluctantly let Tom sit next to Harry to maintain the lie the entire house had done the previous night.

 

House unity at its best!

 

And, yes, he was now 'Tom' to Harry. His direct interference had bypassed Harry’s entire lazy undetailed plan of simply observing the boy from afar to being his best mate.

 

Ricards didn't know if he should be angry at Harry for doing such a thing or to pity Tom because now he had no choice but be close to Harry. In the end, he just decided to pity Tom. There was no way he was going to show his displeasure to Harry.

 

His childhood friend would always retaliate with a prank or two.

 

So now there was a new shift in the dynamics of the Slytherin first years.

 

Instead of an outcast mud-blood and an anti-social Black, there was now the anti-social Black and his tag-a-long.

 

That... did not sit well with Tom according to Harry's observation but he did not show it outwardly.

 

To every non-Slytherin students and to the faculty members, Tom and Harry were... friends.

 

Tom acted like Harry's guardian of sort, keeping the lazy boy awake in classes, pairing with him in class works and helping him with his studies.

 

Harry took it all in stride, taking their new closeness as another way to observe Tom.

 

Tom appreciated it when Harry was silent.

 

Tom would sometimes be surprised when Harry suddenly says what he was thinking out loud.

 

Tom liked listening to Harry talk about the different Wizarding traditions or the Dark Arts he knew or read about.

 

And Tom... had the habit of grabbing Harry's arm when the smaller boy would unconsciously walk ahead of him.

 

He liked it when Harry walked behind him. He tolerated it when Harry walked next to him.

 

But walking ahead of him?

 

No, no, no.

 

That was not allowed.

 

Their closeness was forced upon them by the lie Harry had built but he could see Tom was using it to his advantage. Being able to sit with the rest of the first years, Tom was slowly getting the other first years to warm up to him.

 

Just yesterday, Ricards was animatedly talking to Tom about the first time he had met Harry. Harry didn’t mind it but he did think Ricards was a bit rude, comparing Harry to a demonic being hell-bent in spreading chaos around him which was rude.

 

He only spread chaos when he was bored.

 

Harry did understand what Tom was doing.

 

And he could care less that he was being used.

 

Tom was entertaining to be around. He always listened to whatever Harry was saying, regardless of how random or how useless it was. He answered most of Harry's questions. He commented on most of Harry's imagination, mostly to tell him why this or that wouldn’t work like how Harry thought it would. He was also a fountain of information about muggle literature and academic knowledge. Tom was like a sponge when it comes to books. Harry was actually a bit surprised the hat didn’t place him in Ravenclaw.

 

He supposed Tom’s ambition was far deeper than his thirst for knowledge.

 

Then there were the times Tom would get this thoughtful look on his face and mull over what Harry had said. Harry always liked seeing that expression in Tom's face. It would usually be followed by Tom actually making a plausible plan to execute whatever random thing Harry had thought of.

 

But even Harry did not expect Tom to react the way he reacted right now simply because of a random thought Harry had.

 

"I've got it."

 

Harry turned his head to stare at Tom who took his usual place on Harry's left during meal time in the Great Halls. He hadn’t seen the boy ever since the end of Potions. Tom did say he was going to the library and Harry was about to follow him but Tom had ordered him not to.

 

Harry had pouted at the order but Tom simply gave him a stern look that did not leave anything open for debate.

 

Thus, Harry spent his free time just walking around the castle, talking to some of the ghosts to ask how they died and how it felt. Most ghosts seemed to find the question offensive though.

 

The Bloody Baron was more than happy to share some of his ‘bloody’ experience to the curious Black though.

 

Harry was intrigued by the many ways one could torture another.

 

"Hello, Tom." Harry greeted instead of asking, swirling his spoon on the pumpkin soup he had in front of him. He had been spending around ten minutes just playing with his dinner when Tom made his appearance.

 

"Yes, hello, Harry." Tom greeted back in a distracted manner as he grabbed Harry's wrist before scolding, "Stop playing with your food."

 

It took some time before the taller boy agreed to call Harry with that muggle-like nickname. Tom didn't understand why someone from an Ancient and Noble Family such as the Black would want to be called something so... plain.

 

When he had asked Harry about it, Harry had simply said "There is power behind names, my dear Tom." and left it at that.

 

Tom knew Ricards understood the meaning behind the nickname but the Lestrange heir had been close-lipped about it.

 

Apparently, he feared Harry more than Tom.

 

That would soon be rectified.

 

When Harry finally stopped swirling his spoon, Tom let go of his hand and pushed Harry's soup away from them before placing a book in front of Harry. Tom scooted closer towards Harry, pressing his chest on smaller boy's shoulder as he placed his hand on Harry's other shoulder, forcing Harry to lean on him. Harry wasn't bothered by the lack of personal space. He never cared in the first place and Tom took great care over the little he possessed, it seemed.

 

To Tom, Harry was probably another possession he needed to keep close.

 

It was quite sweet... in its own weird twisted way that seemed to be an accurate description to their relationship in the first place.

 

Harry kept Tom close because he was entertaining and his magic was alluring to Harry while Tom kept Harry close because he was an easy way into the boring world of pure-blood society.

 

The whole pretending to be best mates just happened to be the catalyst for their current... 'relationship'.

 

Not to mention, the looks they got from people whenever Tom invaded his personal space was entertaining.

 

Walburga looked like she was torn between fainting and screaming bloody murder.

 

Ricards looked like he wanted to say something but would just shift his eyes away.

 

Dorea would just stare at them for a couple of minutes before giving a resigned sigh.

 

To name a few...

 

Harry’s favourite was Dumbledore’s reaction. He always had a sorrowful expression with a hint of nostalgia yet his eyes twinkled with an expression that Harry had concluded to be quite similar to hope. It was… fascinating. It seemed that the very existence of Tom caused a tornado of emotions in Dumbledore’s twinkling eyes.

 

Tom opened the book and flipped it to a page, pointing at the title as he said, "This is what we need."

 

Harry read what Tom was pointing, blinking for a few seconds before asking, "A rune stone that disperses a spell to a certain range?"

 

"Yes." Tom smiled as he explained, "It's usually used by the Ministry when they need an area-wide Obliviate spell for muggles."

 

Harry hummed and turned to stare at Tom, unaffected by the fact that their faces were just inches away from one another, as he grinned, "If it can be used to cast an area-wide Obliviate spell..."

 

Tom smirked back as he finished, "It should be enough to cast a simple area-wide Transfiguration spell."

 

Harry leaned closer, whispering so nobody else could hear what they were planning, "We could do it."

 

"Yes." Tom replied, his habit of hissing his 's' when he's being emotional slipping through.

 

Harry's grin turned more amused as he playfully asked, "I supposed you would want to create our own rune stone than just be lazy and buy one, right?"

 

Tom's smirk widened into a predatorily grin as he replied, "Of course I do."

 

"Right now?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow.

 

"Right now." Tom agreed, taking Harry's hand and standing up. Harry let the taller boy drag him off his seat, both of them leaving the Great Hall in a brisk walk, faces decorated by grins.

 

Neither realized that a lot of people had stared at them as they went out and whispers began spreading all over dinner about the overly-close Slytherin pair.

 

A girl in Gryffindor was heard shouting, "THEY'RE ELEVEN FOR GOD'S SAKE! THEY ARE TOO YOUNG FOR THAT!!!"

 

 

 

People who personally knew Harry became wary the next following weeks.

 

He was always in the library with Tom during their free time, whispering to one another as they scourged the library for any books pertaining to runes.

 

Ricards was silently making preparations, stocking his medical box for every possible antidote to every possible poison and every possible counter-potion for every possible curse and hex he could think of. He still thought it wasn't enough. It was bad enough when Harry was alone in researching something he was bound to try out on some poor innocent soul... or souls... but with the genius Tom Riddle helping him now?

 

He only knew Tom Riddle for a few weeks (courtesy of the lie Harry made) but he already knew that Tom Riddle was easily one of the few people who had no qualms doing morally ambiguous things if it interested him.

 

He really wouldn’t be surprised if the two managed to trigger the end of the world. Harry would certainly do it out of boredom and Tom would do it because it sounded interesting.

 

Ricards could only pray Dorea would put a stop to them before they begin.

 

Dorea was the only person Harry would listen to.

 

Of course, there was a chance Harry could sway Dorea to helping them and...

 

well... if that happens... Hogwarts was probably screwed.

 

Unknown to Ricards, it wasn't Dorea who gave a helping hand to the two obsessed Slytherins but...

 

"Hello, my dear baby snakes." Tom froze when he felt an arm rest upon his shoulder.

 

Next to him, Harry simply sighed and stated in a dismissive drawl, "I don't know where Dorea is, Charlus."

 

Tom turned his head slightly to see the older student who had the audacity to stand between him and Harry. A Gryffindor with messy (no, seriously, did he flew by a tornado?) hair and atrocious glasses grinned at Harry as he playfully asked, "Can't I say hi to my favourite baby snake, Hadrian?"

 

"You may." Harry replied without looking up from the rune stone creation book he was reading and continued in the same bored tone, "Hello, Charlus. There. Greetings done. Go bother Dorea."

 

Charlus chuckled and turned to face Tom as he commented in mock-hurt, “Can you believe this guy? Here I am, his future brother-in-law, showing my adoration and he shoos me like a dog.”

 

Harry closed the book and finally turned to face Charlus. His lips curved into a pleasant smile as he said, “First of all, you’re not my future brother-in-law. You would be my sister’s dear stalker. Second of all, I am not shooing you like a dog. I’m shooing you like you’re Orion or Ricards so be honoured. Third of all, you should get your hands off Tom before he hexes you so bad you’ll have to go to the Hospital Wing.”

 

Charlus raised his arms in mock-surrender and took a step back as he commented, “Okay, okay, point taken. Come on, Hadrian, you need to lighten up.”

 

Harry rolled his eyes as he crossed his arms before staring at Charlus as he retorted, “The last time I lightened up in your presence, you locked me in a room for an entire night with some annoying catchy muggle song playing all around me.”

 

Charlus chuckled before retorting, “It was only payback for that time you gave me that swelling potion.”

 

“It’s not my fault you have the habit of drinking what’s not yours.” Harry defended with a pleasant smile before commenting, “If it makes you any better, Dorea enjoyed seeing your entire face swelling like some mutated overly inbred squib.”

 

“My dear Dorea enjoys seeing pain and suffering in general.” Charlus commented with a fond smile before he shrugged as he added, “I had simply wished I was not the victim.”

 

Harry scoffed and was about to reply when he felt Tom grab him by the arm. Harry turned to stare at Tom who was now apparently standing very close to him with narrowed eyes as he asked, “Who is this, Harry?”

 

“Harry?” Charlus repeated with wide eyes. Charlus furrowed his eyebrows as he asked, “You let him call you ‘Harry’?”

 

“Tom, this is my sister’s dear stalker, Charlus Potter, heir to the Potter House, one of the noble and ancient families left in Britain.” Harry introduced, giving a dismissive wave at Charlus before continuing, “He’s a Gryffindor and disgustingly Light but he does love pranking people so he’s not that bad. He’s definitely better than his younger brother, Fleamont. Now that boy is as boring as an hourglass.”

 

“What is it with you snakes and your penchant for saying my house like it’s some kind of disease or some disgusting homemade abomination made by Hadrian?” Charlus groaned, making Harry turn to frown at him. Tom noted that the older student didn’t comment on Harry’s insult towards his younger brother.

 

“I don’t make homemade abomination. Your taste palate just can’t handle it.” Harry sneered.

 

Charlus grinned as he retorted, “Oh my dear little brother, anyone’s taste palate would be burned off once they try your abominations.”

 

Charlus turned to look at Tom and warned, “Heed my warning, young snake. Do not, even under torture or promise of death, try his abomination. Trust me. Torture is a better alternative.”

 

Harry leaned closer to Tom as he hissed, “Don’t poison my Tom’s head with your lies.”

 

Harry turned to look at Tom with his best impression of puppy dog eyes as he asked, “You’ll try my homemade food, won’t you, my dear Tom?”

 

Tom simply stared at Harry as he deadpanned, “Forgive me, my dear Harry, but I think it will most benefit our world if I shove it down Dumbledore’s throat.”

 

Harry pouted while Charlus laughed loudly. Every other people in the library turned to stare at the laughing Gryffindor while Madam Pince glared at them. Charlus turned to wink at her which only made her glare intensify to an almost murderous one.

 

“We don’t really want to get thrown out of the library right now so can you please tell us why you suddenly decided to approach us?” Harry asked, crossing his arms as he stared at Charlus with pure bored eyes.

 

Charlus took a step towards Harry but stepped back when Tom glared at him. Charlus raised his hands once more as he grinned at Tom. Harry paid it no heed, used to Tom’s dislike of anyone coming close to either of them. Only Dorea seemed to be the exception and that was only towards Harry. If she dare try to come close to Tom, Harry would be the one glaring at his sister.

 

“I am here to offer my services to your noble cause.” Charlus said with a slight bow.

 

“What noble cause?” Harry tilted his head in confusion.

 

“Whatever evil machination you are currently investing your free time to, of course.” Charlus replied with a grin.

 

“Whoever said we are currently doing such an atrocious thing?” Harry asked with mocked surprise.

 

“No one, really.” Charlus replied with a shrug before grinning at Harry, “But I know you, my dear sweet little brother. The last two times you spent this much amount of time in libraries, you managed to procure a chimera and unleashed it in the Black’s ancestral home’s garden. The other time, Orion and Ricardus suddenly caught a supposedly extinct sickness.”

 

Tom turned to look at Harry with interested blue eyes. Harry turned to face Tom and summarized, “My father said I couldn’t have a puppy because a puppy was too ‘muggle’ so I bought a chimera by pretending to be an eccentric eighty years old researcher. The sickness wasn’t life-threatening. I read about it from a journal of one of my ancestors so I researched about it and realized it can be replicated by having three different kinds of illness at the same time.”

 

“How were you able to procure three different illnesses?” Tom asked interestedly.

 

Harry grinned as he replied, “Well, I read that muggles were able to recreate the first illness by using some kind of powder substance so I just asked one of the house-elves to steal one for me. There are also two hexes that will cast the other two illnesses so I just learned to do those two without a wand.”

 

“I rest my case.” Charlus said with a grin before cheerfully asking, “Well, come on, dear brother. Let me in your little scheme.”

 

“No.” Harry immediately replied with a sweet smile. He wrapped his free hand around Tom’s and explained pleasantly, “This little project is ours alone.”

 

Harry turned to grin at Tom as he asked, “Isn’t that right, my dear Tom?”

 

Tom stared at Charlus with a thoughtful look on his face. Noticing such emotion, Harry frowned and asked, “You can’t honestly be thinking of letting him be a part of this, are you?”

 

“I promise to be helpful and not stand too close to Hadrian.” Charlus charmingly said, making Harry glare at him.

 

When Tom turn towards Harry and opened his mouth, Harry cut him off with a low whisper, “This is supposed to be ours alone, Tom. Just the two of us.”

 

Charlus watched the two of them silently as Tom replied, “Yes, it is and it will continue to be but…”

 

Tom leaned closer to Harry while staring at Charlus with a predatory smirk decorating his angelic face as he whispered, “We do need someone to take the blame for it.”

 

Harry turned slowly to face Charlus, grinning as he realized what Tom was getting at, “And who better for it than a well-known Gryffindor prankster?”

 

“Yes.” Tom hissed, “This way, no one would know about our involvement.”

 

Harry grinned at Charlus as he asked, “What do you say then, Charlus? Would you allow us to frame you for our nefarious plans?”

 

“Will it be fun?” Charlus asked innocently.

 

“Oh, yes, it will be.” Harry cooed, making Tom’s smirk grow.

 

Charlus stared at Harry for a moment before smirking. He bowed lightly at them as he cheerfully said, “I happily consent, my dear snakes.”

 

Internally, Charlus wondered if Dorea knew about the rapid growing closeness the two boys were showing. Hadrian had never been one to make use of physical displays of affections but he and Tom certainly have no qualms touching each other. When Charlus phrased it like that though, it sounded wrong in his head. Knowing his dear lovely Dorea, she probably didn’t care. As long as her favourite sibling wasn’t in danger, she would let him grow on his own in peace.

 

That day, Tom and Harry found their ‘fallout guy’.

 

 

 

It happened in the middle of a normal boring Monday breakfast. Most students were already eating, many of which are still half-asleep or having a bout of what Harry liked to call ‘Weekend hangover’.

 

While everyone was busy trying to pretend not to hate Monday (except some who actually liked going to class the day after Sunday), Tom had leaned closer to Harry, whispering directly to his ear. Harry couldn’t help but giggle lightly, earning a raised eyebrow from Tom. Harry just grinned at him as he admitted that Tom’s breath tickled his ear.

 

Since Tom seemed to be in a good mood, the taller boy only smirked at him before whispering once more. With a soft nod from Harry, both boys turned face each other, their faces too close to be socially acceptable and both lips curved upward, a grin decorating Harry’s while Tom’s aristocratic look gained a slightly scary hue to it with its own small smirk.

 

Ricards, who had been silently eating his breakfast in front of Harry, suddenly froze when he heard an almost inaudible pop.

 

It took a moment before anyone reacted.

 

The first reaction was a scream coming from one of the younger lions.

 

Someone in the badger’s table screamed, “SPIDERS!!!”

 

And that caused a chain reaction of almost everyone screaming or standing. Some even did both at the same time.

 

Being trained since birth, Ricards managed to stop himself from screaming like a bloody girl and stared at the sudden appearance of spiders all over the table. In the midst of the screaming, there was a loud laughter coming directly from the lion’s table but Ricards paid it no heed, turning to stare at Harry who was apparently cooing as he placed his hand right in front of one of the creepy crawlers. Harry watched in fascination as the spider walked towards his palm while he cooed, “Look at its cute little belly.”

 

“Zygiella x-notate.” Tom whispered, watching the spider crawl towards Harry’s arm. He placed his palm on top of Harry’s lower arm, just two inches away from Harry’s pulse. The spider crawled towards his palm as he explained in a soft whisper, “A non-poisonous spider found in Britain mostly during autumn and winter.”

 

“No poison?” Harry asked with a pout, earning a fond small smile from Tom.

 

“No poison.” Tom whispered back.

 

“Who did this?” The loud voice of their transfiguration professor caused everyone to stop in mid-panic. Dumbledore didn’t shout though and the loudness of his voice had been caused by the Sonorus charm.

 

Harry paid it no heed, more interested in playing with the spider in Tom’s hand. He placed his open palm next to Tom’s, making a bridge for the spider to crawl towards. He did notice how Tom’s magic flared around the two of them. Harry only felt it flare protectively around him when they were around idiots who thought they could bully the two first years. Harry raised his head to stare at Tom, finally noticing that he was glaring at the transfiguration professor. When Harry noticed Dumbledore turn to stare at Tom, Harry placed a hand on Tom’s cheek and gently forced the glaring boy to turn to face him. Tom’s glare didn’t leave his face and Harry grinned in amusement, letting the spider crawl up his arm as he whispered, “Don’t look at him in the eyes. He can read our surface thoughts.”

 

Tom’s entire body froze and Harry felt his alluring Dark magic react to Harry’s words, making Ricards and every other first years near them shiver. Harry, on the other hand, hummed and leaned closer, wanting to feel more of Tom’s deliciously Dark magic.

 

It was fascinating how such a child could have such alluring Dark magic even though his core was yet to mature.

 

While Harry was lost to Tom’s magic, Charlus stood and happily exclaimed, “That would be me, professor!”

 

Charlus only grinned at the murderous glares he got while Dumbledore asked with narrowed eyes, “You transfigured every floating candle in here to spiders?”

 

“Yes, I did.” Charlus replied with a grin. When he noticed Dorea staring at him, he winked at her. Dorea only raised an eyebrow at him.

 

“Without any help?” Dumbledore pressed, glancing at the Slytherin table.

 

As if he felt Dumbledore’s wary gaze, Tom turned around to glare at the old coot but the hand on his cheek stopped him. Harry leaned closer to Tom, whispering, “Control your temper, Tom.”

 

Tom glared at him as he hissed, “Don’t tell me what to do, Black.”

 

“Harry.” The smaller boy said, grinning at Tom, “Call me ‘Harry’.”

 

When Tom growled, Harry patted his cheek using his forefinger as he whispered, “Your magic is acting up. We’re at our most vulnerable when we lose control. The less control we have, the easier for people like Dumbledore to read us.”

 

“No help.” Charlus replied with a grin, “Unless you count Rune class. That’s where I got the idea of using a rune to disperse the spell. Oh! And you helped as well, professor. Couldn’t have done it if you haven’t taught us how to transfigure an inanimate object to an animal!”

 

“Charlus!” One of the younger Gryffindor hissed, “Are you out of your mind!? They’re spiders!!”

 

“Relax, Flea.” Charlus cheerfully said, “It’s just a prank. I even made sure the spiders are not poisonous!”

 

“Stop calling me that!” Flea, or more commonly known as Fleamont Potter, shouted with embarrassed red cheeks.

 

“Ten points for Gryffindor and detention with me tonight.” Dumbledore said, earning a sputtering Flitwick who immediately reminded the transfiguration professor how dangerous the prank was. Dumbledore simply replied in a grandfatherly-like voice, “No one was harm and Mister Potter certainly took precautions in planning this. Also, I think twenty points to Gryffindor for thinking of such an indigenous prank using what he learned from both Transfiguration and Ancient Runes.”

 

“Thank you, professor!” Charlus grinned, winking at Dorea once more. This time, Dorea’s lips curved into a small smirk. 

 

“Now, then. Let’s continue with breakfast, shall we?” Dumbledore cheerfully said before outstretching his arms. At the wave of his hands, all the spiders returned to its original wax form, making everyone marvel at the obvious display of power.

 

Harry pouted when his creepy crawler friend turned back to a candle. He let the candle float back to its proper place in the magical ceiling before turning to grab his spoon. He listened to the angry whispers around the table about Dumbledore’s obvious favouritism when Tom grabbed his wrist, stopping him from eating. He turned to face Tom and Tom whispered, “Come.”

 

Some of the first year snakes watched the pair stand and leave the Great Halls but no one followed them. Harry did manage to glance at Charlus and nodded at him which Charlus answered with a raise of his goblet filled with pumpkin juice. Harry let Tom drag him towards the dungeon, stopping right in the middle of a dead-end. Tom turned to face Harry and asked, “What do you mean he can read minds?”

 

“It’s called Legilemency.” Harry explained, fascinating by the fury Tom was keeping inside. Knowing that Tom was at his most volatile when he was trying to rein in his rage, Harry didn’t make any comments and kept it on topic, “It’s frowned upon by the Ministry. Occlumency is the art of occluding one’s mind from Legilemency. Both arts are directly linked so when one is learning Legilemency, it’s natural to be proficient in Occlumency as well.”

 

“Do you know how to do it?” Tom asked, taking a step towards Harry.

 

“I’ve been trained to occlude my mind since I was five.” Harry admitted, “The best way to learn how to occlude your mind is to have someone perform Legilemency on you.”

 

“Can you perform Legilemency?” Tom pressed.

 

Harry stared at Tom for a moment before stating, “It would be better to learn Occlumency from a proficient-“

 

“Can you-“ Tom took another step towards Harry, grabbing his arms tightly as he repeated, “-perform Legilemency?”

 

“I can.” Harry admitted but added quickly, “But I highly recommend finding a professional if you wish to learn how to occlude your mind.”

 

“Why?” Tom tilted his head and whispered, “I already know someone who can right here.”

 

“My father thought me how to perform Legilemency but he said I lack the talent for it.” Harry explained, relaxing as he felt Tom’s magic wrap around him gently.

 

Oh, he was good.

 

Harry wondered when Tom realized he was more amicable to Tom’s suggestions (orders) when surrounded by Tom’s magic.

 

“Legilemency is about finesse. It’s about entering one’s mind without notice.” Harry explained, grinning as he added, “Unfortunately, my Legilemency is apparently the same as breaking a brick wall with a sledgehammer. It’s noticeable due to the amount of pain it inflicts.”

 

“I don’t care about pain.” Tom hissed, pressing their chests together. Harry could see the fear hiding in his angry blue eyes and Harry felt himself mesmerized by it. He barely heard Tom continue, “If learning to occlude one’s mind means having someone invade my mind then I want it to be someone I can trust.”

 

Harry blinked.

 

Then he blinked again.

 

Harry tiled his head as he asked in confusion, “You trust me?”

 

Tom raised an eyebrow as he asked back, “Shouldn’t I?”

 

Harry hummed for a moment before admitting, “I don’t know if you should.”

 

“You won’t use what you see against me, would you, my dear Harry?” Tom raised his hands to cup Harry’s cheeks, “Not when I would be seeing your mind as well.”

 

“You will?” Harry asked. His brain processing capabilities also seem to deteriorate when around Tom’s magic.

 

Tom smirked predatorily as he replied, “Of course. I would need to practice on someone to perfect Legilemency as well.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> … Okay, no references to talk about… The spider prank has been talked about in Musing of a Diary Horcrux.


	3. A Taste

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry begins helping Tom with Occlumency and Legilimency

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is part of a series of fanfics I am uploading in celebrations of my birthday (which, coincidently, is this Sunday, August 28) so enjoy, guys.
> 
> Please be reminded this doesn’t mean that this fic will have a weekly update. Light House still takes precedence. I was able to write this because I took the entire week off work. XD
> 
> Warning for this chapter:  
> 1 unbeta’ed as usual  
> 2 uuumm… a bit of background story?

It was in the middle of the night, around two o’clock in the morning or so when Harry felt his bed dip. He kept his eyes closed and heard an annoyed boy’s voice say, “I know you’re not sleeping, Harry.”

 

Harry lifted his cover slightly so his head would be peeking out and turned around to stare at Tom who was now sitting on the foot of his bed with his arms crossed. Harry grinned at Tom as he said, “Close the blinds, Tom. People might see us and get the wrong idea.”

 

Tom rolled his eyes and waved his hand towards the blind. The blinds began to slide and cover the entire bed as Tom retorted, “Almost everyone already has the wrong idea about our relationship.”

 

Harry sat up suddenly, making Tom lean back when Harry quickly crawled towards him. Harry stared at Tom’s face, their faces too close for comfort and Tom deadpanned, “This kind of behaviour is also a reason why people get the wrong idea.”

 

“Is it normal for you to bend magic to your will without a wand and an incantation?” Harry asked curiously, tilting his head as he stared at Tom’s face.

 

“Yes?” Tom answered with a tone of curiosity, letting the smaller boy place his hands on his cheeks. Harry began to move Tom’s head slightly, observing every inch of Tom’s face. Tom’s tone was slightly annoyed as he asked, “Is there any reason to why you’re currently staring at my face?”

 

“I’m checking for signs of magical exhaustion.” Harry replied distractedly, “Well, I’m actually just checking if you’re sweating, your temperature is colder than normal, your veins are showing or you’re slightly trembling. That’s the basic signs of magical exhaustion.”

 

“Why would I have magical exhaustion?” Tom asked before adding, “And how do you know about the signs?”

 

Harry finally let go of Tom’s head, sitting in front of him with their knees bumping at one another when they moved just an inch forward, and replied, “I once had forced myself too much and got magical exhaustion as a result. You barely feel it at first then, before you know it, you’ve already fainted. It’s normal for wizards and witches to have magical exhaustions after using too much magic in a short period of time. Considering our core is still developing, that would mean we would have lesser magical reserves than a normal adult wizard or witch. Wandless and wordless magic is a highly exhaustive practice so it’s easy for us to have magical exhaustion because of it.”

 

“I’ve never experienced it.” Tom stated confidently, “I’ve always had perfect control over my magic.”

 

“Of course you do. You’re perfect.” Harry amusingly said with a grin. He patted Tom’s knee before saying, “Anyway, it seems you have a talent for wandless and wordless magic. It would be better if you keep practicing it. I’ve heard that most people cannot perform it after they finished their schooling since they’re more used to using a wand and incantations.”

 

“Does that mean you can’t perform wandless and wordless magic?” Tom asked curiously.

 

Harry shrugged as he replied, “Not really.”

 

“You’re lying.” Tom narrowed his eyes.

 

“Am I?” Harry leaned forward and tilted his head as he challenged playfully, “Then why don’t you try Legilimency on me and find out if I am?”

 

Tom blinked once before asking curiously, “You want me to try first?”

 

Harry leaned back as he replied, “Sure. You’ve read the books I gave you, right?”

 

“Of course.” Tom replied and Harry could see that he was a bit insulted that Harry had to ask.

 

Harry grinned and grabbed both of Tom’s hands, making Tom lower his head to stare at their hands while Harry explained, “It’s not a common practice but I think it will be better if we hold hands. This way, if the Legilimency proves to be too painful to yell stop, we squeeze the other’s hands instead.”

 

Tom raised his head and asked, “Wouldn’t it be better if we cast a privacy charm then?”

 

“I already did.” Harry answered, tilting his head to stare at the top cover of his bed. Tom raised his head as well, staring curiously at the paper stuck on the middle of the bed with a series of runes written on it. He listened attentively as Harry explained, “It’s a trick Dorea told me when I was six. I concentrated my magic while writing the incantation of the privacy charm. It works for a month or so then I have to make a new one.”

 

Tom lowered his head to stare at Harry as he asked, “You needed your privacy at six years old?”

 

Harry shrugged as he replied, “I talk in my sleep.”

 

Tom narrowed his eyes and Harry grinned as he repeated playfully, “If you want the truth then you better learn Legilimency.”

 

“Why won’t you just tell me?” Tom asked in an annoyed tone, “You’re usually honest. A bit too honest for most…”

 

“If I don’t dangle some things in front of you, there will be no challenge in finding it out, right?” Harry asked with a smirk.

 

Tom shrugged as he replied, “That’s true.”

 

Tom took a deep breath before asking, “So should I start now?”

 

Harry closed his eyes for a second before opening them again. Tom clearly saw the way Harry’s expression became closed off, reminding Tom of the beautiful porcelain doll he had seen inside a doll shop once. Harry nodded as he replied, “Okay. Since it’ll be better if we don’t leave any evidences we were even attempting Legilimency, we’ll be practicing it wandlessly. If one of us screams, we stop at once. Okay?”

 

Tom nodded, “Okay.”

 

Harry waited patiently, staring at Tom’s clear blue eyes. Tom’s eyes narrowed and he chanted, “Legilimen!”

 

Tom stared at Harry intensely for a few seconds. When a minute has passed, Tom’s eyes narrowed as he hissed, “Nothing’s happening.”

 

“Something is happening.” Harry replied with a slight smile, “You just don’t notice it.”

 

Tom’s brows furrowed and he concentrated, focusing on Harry’s eyes.

 

That’s when he felt it.

 

It was hard to describe. The closest description Tom could think of was the feeling of his hand against a brick wall. There was something hard and cold about it.

 

“Occlumency.” Tom realized, making Harry nod.

 

“What you’re feeling is the shield of my mind.” Harry explained, “This is the most basic of Occlumency. Advanced versions of this art include the creations of a fabricated mind space or an automatic attack against anyone performing Legilimens on them, breaking the spell and, sometimes, destroying the Legilimen’s mind as well.”

 

“So you only know the basic?” Tom asked.

 

“I’m only eleven, Tom.” Harry reminded him with a grin.

 

Tom straightened as he said, “Age means nothing.”

 

“Then, by all means, my dear Tom, master both of them at your tender age.” Harry commented and Tom could not hear any mocking tone in his voice. Harry truly wanted to see if Tom could do such a feat at his age.

 

That was the very crux of Hadrian Denebola Black.

 

He was a naturally curious person to those he liked and his main goal is most often to see the limit of someone, to push that person to the limit and watch them fall.

 

Tom would show him.

 

He was never going to fall.

 

“Now then.” Harry’s voice forced Tom’s attention back at the younger boy, “My turn.”

 

“I want to try again.” Tom stated.

 

“We made a deal, Tom.” Harry reminded him, “We each get one turn a night. Anything more could have a negative effect on our mind or our core.”

 

Tom narrowed his eyes as he stubbornly said, “I don’t see the point in only doing it once. I can do it multiple times.”

 

“But the more times you try to perform Legilimens, the less focus and magical reserve you would have when it’s my turn to perform it.” Harry retorted calmly before suggesting, “How about this? I perform Legilimens then you do it again if you think you can take it.”

 

There was a hint of reined fury in Tom’s tone as he asked, “You don’t think I can take your Legilimens?”

 

Harry shrugged before replying, “I’m not sure. I think it would be better if you practice both with most of your magical reserve. You might not feel it but both of these magic branches take a lot of magic from our core. With our developing core, the amount taken will even be higher.”

 

Harry rubbed the skin of Tom’s hands with his thumbs as he said gently, “Humour me, Tom. If you are able to continue after my Legilimens, I will happily be your doll for the rest of the night.”

 

Tom rolled his eyes as he commented, “That kind of line is what makes them mistake our relationship.”

 

Harry grinned at Tom as he retorted playfully, “I personally don’t care. I enjoy their reactions.”

 

“Of course you do.” Tom drawled yet there was a hint of fondness in his tone.  Tom sighed before saying, “Fine. You get one shot then I’ll practice Legilimens on you the rest of the night.”

 

Harry nodded and waited for Tom to close his eyes. Tom took a deep breath and tried to relax as the book instructed. Tom opened his eyes and stared at Harry’s vibrant green eyes. Harry nodded once more and waited for a few seconds before whispering, “Legilimens.”

 

Tom didn’t feel anything.

 

A second passed.

 

Then another second…

 

That’s when Tom’s breath hitched as he felt pain throb in his entire head.

 

It was like someone had hit him hard against the wall.

 

That’s when the flashes appeared.

 

_A chorus of children shouting “Freak! Freak! Freak!” all around him._

_Countless adults walking pass him, eyes turning away from him._

_A woman and a priest whispering in front of a slightly open door, “I know it’s him, Father! There’s no one else it could have been! You must believe me! He’s the devil reincarnate! Maybe that’s why his mother died giving birth to him!”_

_“You’re never going to be adopted! No one wants a monster like you!”_

_Standing in the dark as punishment for a sin he did not commit. Imaginary voices hissing, “They’re all the same. All of them. They’ll pretend to like you then hurt you in the end.”_

_A flash of a black haired boy with vibrant green eyes…_

_“Even him.”_

__

“NO!” Tom shouted hysterically.

 

He heard a thud and his vision cleared up once more. He was breathing heavily, sweat falling from his brows. He raised his head and his eyes widened as he saw Harry pinned to the wall in front of him, breathing heavily as well. Harry’s lips curved into a smile as he commented lightly, “Well, that’s one way to stop someone from looking inside your mind.”

 

Tom stared at him silently, the hissing still fresh in his mind.

 

He felt like throwing up.

 

That hissing had always followed him in his dreams. Even when he started to talk to Harry, the hissing remained, but lately it had grown quiet. The longer he was with Harry, the shorter the hissing would haunt him in his dreams.

 

Yet Harry managed to dig it up.

 

He had managed to uncover a few of the memories he never wanted to see himself or to show to anyone.

 

Without saying anything, Tom got out of the bed, his magic instinctively sliding the curtains open for him to pass. He barely heard Harry fall on his bed the moment he went inside his own curtained bed.

 

Tom lay down and wrapped his covers around himself, trying hard to regain his breathing. He began to count slowly, trying to match his breathing with the numbers in his mind.

 

When he was at fifty, he felt his bed dip. Tom froze when he felt someone grabbed the end of his cover and lift it up. Another body lay down next to Tom and Tom could feel the person’s breathing against the nape of his neck. Tom refused to turn around and simply listened as Harry whispered, “I’m not going to tell anyone about this.”

 

“I’ll kill you if you do.” Tom hissed angrily.

 

“I know.” Harry’ tone was soft and light, “Honestly, I like it.”

 

Tom finally turned around and glared at Harry, grabbing Harry’s shoulder roughly as he hissed, “Did you enjoy seeing me pathetic, Hadrian?”

 

“Harry.” Harry automatically corrected before scooted closer. He stared at Tom seriously as he answered, “You misunderstood my words. I didn’t enjoy seeing it. In all honesty, I managed to think of different ways to punish every single one of them.”

 

Harry raised his head and placed his forefinger by Tom’s cheek. He slowly traced his finger from Tom’s cheek to his jaw as he admitted, “You are a very fascinating person, Tom. I find myself unable to stop from wanting to know you. Those memories I saw made you who you are right now and I like the fact that I got to see them.”

 

“I like the fact that I’m getting to know you better.” Harry whispered, lowering his hand. Harry leaned on the pillow as he continued, “This activity goes both ways. Once you have mastered Legilimency, you will be able to see the memories I buried deep inside me.”

 

“Is that your way of trying to make us even?” Tom asked bitterly.

 

Harry chuckled softly and grabbed the hand gripping his shoulder. Tom let Harry pull his hand away and place it between them, Harry’s own hand entwined with his. Harry’s lips curved into a small smile as he said, “If you wish to see it like that.”

 

“I’ll master them both.” Tom whispered, “I’ll master them both and no one, not even you, will be able to be better than me.”

 

“I know you will.” Harry whispered seriously, gripping Tom’s hand tightly, “You have the potential to be great, Tom Riddle, and I want to be there to see it. If my status or my capabilities help you along the way then I’ll happily cooperate.”

 

“Why?” Tom asked with a slight frown, truly confused to why Harry was helping him, “What do you stand to gain from helping me?”

 

“I don’t know.” Harry admitted, “I want to say entertainment but I could have that even without helping you. Helping you… is something I want to do. I can’t really explain it.”

 

“You’re a very strange person.” Tom said, “People do things for the sake of gaining something.”

 

“Then I suppose I feel like I’m going to gain something by helping you. I just don’t know what.” Harry guessed before yawning. He blinked twice before whispering, “It’s late and I’m exhausted. I’m going to sleep.”

 

Harry sat up and tried to pry his hand off Tom but blinked when Tom kept his grip. He tilted his head and Tom pulled him back to the bed. Tom closed his eyes and ordered, “Stay.”

 

“Why?” Harry asked curiously, knowing Tom wasn’t the type to desire physical displays of affection.

 

“I can feel your magic.” Tom whispered, closing his eyes as he continued, “It’s… calming…”

 

Harry frowned lightly.

 

He wasn’t actively letting his magic out. He hated letting his magic out.

 

So how can Tom feel it?

 

It was no use. He was too tired and sleep-deprived to think any further.

 

Harry hummed and leaned closer, adjusting the cover as he whispered, “People will talk when they see us tomorrow morning in the same bed.”

 

“Then that means we just have to wake up earlier than the rest of them.” Tom whispered back.

 

Harry chuckled and closed his eyes. He entwined their hands once more as he whispered sleepily, “Good luck with that.”

 

“Good night, Harry.” Tom whispered.

 

“Good night, Tom.” Harry answered.

 

A second later, they were both asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the Legilemency and Occlumency study will not be mastered in one night (because Tom might be a prodigy but even I don’t think he’s that… talented)

**Author's Note:**

> Weeeeelllllll... ta-dah...?
> 
> I don't know. As far as I’m concerned, this will be a one-shot. If I do get more ideas, it’ll probably be more one-shots in the same ‘verse.
> 
> By the way, the "Teller of Life" is an OC Black. His name... is not really important. It's just an inside joke about a certain "Lifespan star" which I took from another fandom.
> 
> Dorea getting Spica as her middle name does have significance... constellation wise. I have no idea if it will ever matter though. XD


End file.
